When all the opposition parties jumped in to criticize the BJP over the incident in Gujarat, Trinamool leader, and former West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra sparked a new debate by tweeting on a completely different matter.
Hundreds of people lost their lives on Sunday when a bridge over the Machu River collapsed in Gujarat’s Moravi town. According to many political observers, the Trinamool’s response to the incident so far has not been ‘squeamish’. However, Amit’s tweet about Ram Rahim has enough content for controversy. The practice has also started with this.
The subject of the tweet
Amit’s tweet was only about Ram Rahim. Just as Amit has raised questions about the coming and going of many BJP leaders during the Satsang at Ram Rahim’s ashram, he has also claimed about the ashram journey of the late Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Ram Rahim, accused of rape and murder and sentenced to over twenty years in prison, is out of jail on parole for 40 days, writes Amit. It was at this time that BJP leaders attended the Satsang organized by him. It is in this context that he claimed that the late Arun Jaitley told them an explosive story about Ram Rahim’s Ashram Yatra during the lunch break in one of the GST Council meetings.
Amit claims that Jaitley told him that while the charges against Ram Rahim were pending, the then BJP leader Navjot Singh Sidhu suggested that Ram Rahim’s support in the 69 crucial seats in Punjab (in the assembly polls) could be obtained if they visited the ashram as invitees. So, Sidhu and Jaitley reached that ashram by helicopter and went to the ‘cave’. After a few words, one of Ram Rahim’s companions told them that BJP would be supported on one condition. According to Amit, Jaitley said that they quickly went back in the helicopter after assuring them to look into the matter.
This is where Amit claims to come full circle. In a tweet, he questioned, “Is the incident of BJP leaders meeting Ram Rahim, who is on parole, just a coincidence? There is an Adampur by-election in November and panchayat polls in Haryana. It is surprising.”
Claim from BJP
But the BJP leadership claims, whose statements have been cited, that he is not alive now. As a result, there is no place to verify the truth of what is being said. Haryana Congress spokesperson D P Kaushik said, “The court has released Ram Rahim on parole. We have no role in it. The matter is for the court. It is better not to politicize it.”
However, many political observers are saying that the Himachal Pradesh elections are ahead. Many AAP, BJP, and Congress leaders, irrespective of the party, are reaching out to seek Ram Rahim’s ‘blessings’.
CPM wants unity on the governorship and federal issues
The CPM will talk to other opposition parties to protest at the national level, keeping in mind the way the central government is running without caring about the federal structure.